working out for Disney

[HouCuseChickie]

They don't really do extra curriculars here in school. There are no athletic teams through the school....it's all club. The only thing at school is theater, which they haven't been able to do for a year and a half. E was so disappointed because you aren't eligible until your 3rd year, which was last year. She's been waiting for it. So she finally was eligible, and then they couldn't do it because of Corona. But E doesn't really have an athletic bone in her whole body. Hopefully they'll be able to theater this year. A has his tennis club and chess club. E is much more academic...she does the "nerdy" things they come up with every once in a while. Last year they had this thing called "Night of the Nerds" which was some workshops about science and technology. She did that....and then later there was a Night of the Nerds Quiz, which was a nation-wide trivia type thing for schools. Her team won. This year, one of her teachers is really campaigning hard for her to do "Track in Learning" which is a series of workshops meant for students who "easily pass" all their classes...most kids struggle a bit and are happy to get a D. E has never had a failing grade and she's pretty sure she's the only one from her original class of 20 kids who never had a failing grade in three years. She has one friend from the other dual immersion class who can say the same. Her LOWEST grade has been the equivalent of a B. She's at the top of her class, so this teacher really wants her to sign up for this program, but she's worried about it. It's a year and a half long and involves missing regular classes to go to these workshops, most of which are in a different town. So she'd have to leave school, ride her bike to the train station, take the train to Winterswijk, have a 4 hour long workshop, then take the train home. She'd miss her lunch hour and right now you still have to wear facemasks in the train, so she couldn't eat on the train, but she'd be late coming home for dinner, she'd have to make up all the classes she missed and any tests she was supposed to take then. It's a pretty big commitment and while she's academically capable of it, she's thinking about how tired she'll be and how stressed trying to make up the work for the classes she missed. But since there are no extra curriculars here, and there's no real college application process, there's not much you get out of such a thing. Colleges don't even look at your transcripts here....if you pass, you get a diploma and as long as you took the required subjects, you can do whatever "major" you want. You pick a school, pick a program, and you sign up for it. That's it. You don't have to be competitive with a bunch of other kids. So this program, while it sounds interesting, doesn't offer her anything extra...it's just extra work to learn more. And in order to sign up, you have to have a discussion with your mentor and the school....counselor I guess, for lack of a better term....it's a person who organizes and is responsible for the requirements. They are the ones who give advice about which classes you should take, make sure requirements are met, grades are sufficient, etc. So you have to meet with this person to review your records and whether you are likely to be able to keep up with the course load. And there's no doubt she qualifies, which is why this one teacher wants her so badly. But she doesn't want her school work to suffer if she does it, and she doesn't want to be a ball of stress. Her one friend who barely passed and only made it through last year because she was allowed to drop the classes she wasn't going to take this year, wants to do this program. I'm pretty sure she won't make it through the meeting with the "counselor". She won't get approved. But that's pretty much the extent of E's extra-curriculars. She's not a "joiner"...she doesn't like large groups, she's not athletic...she's creative, but hates doing classes where they tell you HOW you have to be creative....like "Draw a picture of...." or "Make a poster in Pop Art style depicting an apocolyptic survival device." (yes, that was an actual assignment in art class.)

I think a lot of it is just differences between countries. It sounds like you guys have a really robust academic program. Part of me would miss all of the things the kids can get involved with over here, but it also sounds like what you have allows the kids to focus better on the most critical subjects. Even back in my high school days, I remember my mom pushing to keep me involved in all sorts of stuff so that I'd look really diverse and involved on paper. If anything, I think there's even more pressure to be involved now. By next year, I have to start working on volunteer spots for K and we may need to look to rejoining Student Council. She's a joiner and super sociable, so it's really about trying to keep the grades in check. She's actually made a lot of progress on that front as well. She's back in the green in everything, but we now need to focus on pulling up a number of grades to a more comfortable level. While K plays softball, S is the athletic one. She's was planning on taking a break from school sports after volleyball (and wait on spring track), but the school coaches are begging her to try out for basketball. Since she quit band, I'm hoping she sticks with journalism as it'll give her a different method of writing as well as an outlet to work on her photography skills. She's much more introverted, even though she opens up in athletics, so anything to show she's more than just an athlete.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I don't remember any big schools being at our college fair. We had UW, of course, and the local community colleges.....Casper College, Sheridan, and Gillette Campus, LCCC in Cheyenne, and then Black Hills State in South Dakota, and I think Chadron State from Nebraska....that's it. There MAY have been one from Colorado, but I don't remember it if they did. It was all community colleges except Black hills, Chadron, and the University of Wyoming. But then, most of our students didn't apply anywhere else. A few went into the military because their grades weren't good enough to get into college, a few went to community colleges....most of them never even graduated from them. They'd go for a semester or a year and then drop out. We didn't have a very high rate of kids who got any further education after high school. There were 3 other kids in my class who went to UW with me and I'm the only one who graduated. We had 32 graduating seniors, plus 5 exchange students. Of those 32, I think 4 of us, or maybe 5, went to a 4 year university, and probably 10 did some community college. I think that's it. I THINK I'm the only one with any sort of degree, unless someone went back to school to get one later. We're just not known for academics. I was the "nerd". The week before graduation, the valedictorian got arrested for selling drugs.....to the Salutitorian. (I ended up #2, but somehow the other kid magically passed me in the 3rd quarter with one less A than I had, so he was named Salutitorian, and then I "passed him back" again 4th quarter. At least the scholarship was awarded in the 2nd quarter, so I got that. But in the 2nd quarter there was a "computer glitch" that switched our two rankings, and only our two. It was discovered and set right relatively quickly, and the counselor's secretary, who was a good friend of ours, had I think been the one to catch it, and she told me that my GPA was high enough that he couldn't pass me unless I really screwed up. Then 3rd quarter, I somehow got a C in Calculus though I had gotten A's on all the homework and had gotten a B on my test, and my math teacher wasn't able to explain to my mom why that came out to a C. And someone overheard a science teacher, not mine, telling the school secretary "I don't KNOW why. I was told to give her a B, so that's what I gave her" about some other student....so we knew grades were being fixed. And when mom went in to question my grades, they did discover that the other kid had been given AP credit for his advanced Spanish, but I was NOT given AP credit for my advanced German. Anyway, that's why I say he "magically" passed me. I don't think he actually did, but the councelor and principal had a beef...several beefs, with my family, so I'm pretty sure they rigged it.)

I'm sure some of it is living in what's considered major metro areas. I know Kendall didn't get info from every school at hers, and it wasn't nearly as many as the one at my school, but she saw some decent schools, but she still came home talking about 20+ schools from all over. Still, her focus is law, so I want to make sure she looks to some place with a decent Poli-Sci/Pre Law undergrad program. Texas reminds me a lot of what we saw in Florida. There are a number of kids who graduate HS that go on to complete degree programs at 4 year colleges and universities...but many of them wind up going to smaller state schools rather than the big names. We saw some of this in NJ too, but a lot more going to big schools or well known schools. Still, even some of the smartest kids burn out. Our Valedictorian went to Princeton and I'd heard she had to take a leave after first semester because she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She was a sweet girl, but wasn't allowed an ounce of freedom and everything she did had to keep her on point with her parent's academic goals. On the flip side, our Salutatorian went to Yale, had a booming social life in high school and rolled with the punches of an Ivy League education.

Wow! A class of 32! My husband always mocks me for having a class of 300...since his was like 1,500 or more. Some of the graduating classes are so large here that high school graduation has to be held in one of the pro sports stadiums. As for the grades...so many thoughts on that...none of them good. That sounds so horribly rigged. It's pretty disgusting when you think about it. You work so hard against a system that's fixed to work against you. Not right.

 

[Figgy1]

Just checking in with a zen day before I go and get more apples tomorrow. Right now between canning and holiday crafting I'm lucky to get my steps and a practice in. {{HUGS}} for those having a rough go of it

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Gee thanks cookie.

 

[Songbird76]

I think a lot of it is just differences between countries. It sounds like you guys have a really robust academic program. Part of me would miss all of the things the kids can get involved with over here, but it also sounds like what you have allows the kids to focus better on the most critical subjects. Even back in my high school days, I remember my mom pushing to keep me involved in all sorts of stuff so that I'd look really diverse and involved on paper. If anything, I think there's even more pressure to be involved now. By next year, I have to start working on volunteer spots for K and we may need to look to rejoining Student Council. She's a joiner and super sociable, so it's really about trying to keep the grades in check. She's actually made a lot of progress on that front as well. She's back in the green in everything, but we now need to focus on pulling up a number of grades to a more comfortable level. While K plays softball, S is the athletic one. She's was planning on taking a break from school sports after volleyball (and wait on spring track), but the school coaches are begging her to try out for basketball. Since she quit band, I'm hoping she sticks with journalism as it'll give her a different method of writing as well as an outlet to work on her photography skills. She's much more introverted, even though she opens up in athletics, so anything to show she's more than just an athlete.

School really is focused on the academic part of education here, and since it's a tiered system, the academics are geared toward the level each student is at. My mom didn't pressure me so much to join things, but I had a lot of activities anyway....I loved them. I particularly loved anything that got me out of my hometown and away from my classmates. I LOVED Speech and Debate...I fit in there where I didn't fit in in my school. I was a social butterfly in speech and debate and an outcast in my school. I was accepted by students from other schools in a way I wasn't in my own school. I did music, drama, speech and debate, Student council, International club, Teen Leadership training....I did cheerleading in junior high and then my freshman year of high school, but it conflicted with speech, and I preferred the speech and debate environment, so I quit after that one year. The girls who I cheered with for basketball were great...we were all kind of academically-minded and the upper classmen were really nice. The ones I cheered with for Football were horrible. They were the "bad girls" I guess, and they were just bullies in general. But then the one basketball cheerleader graduated, and the other upperclassman didn't go out for it again, and another girl moved, so it was me and the one girl I was a bit wary of. Then she got all her cronies to go out for it and not one of them had any experience or skill....they were just all her friends and only one of them was a nice person. It just wasn't worth it. And I had so many other activities that I didn't need cheerleading for my resume. Sometimes I wish E was able to do more activities. I don't think she knows what she's missing out on though. She doesn't like public speaking, so she doesn't think she'd like speech, but I think she'd have loved doing IEs. It's more acting than speaking, so closer to Theater, and I think she'd have been great at it. And she has a really nice voice...if she got training, she could be quite a singer. It's sad that she doesn't have more of an opportunity to develop those talents like she would in the US. I think the academics are much better here, but if I could change anything, I'd like them to offer the extra curriculars. Even if they join a club here, it's usually only an hour a week, which isn't really enough time to get good at something. But on the other side of that, I do like that it's not so competitive here. It just seems so stressful. Having to make practices all the time, and keep up with homework and juggle a social life on top of it all....I didn't really have much of a social life, so that wasn't a huge issue for me, but I did get really stressed sometimes, trying to keep up with all the activities AND school work. I'm glad we don't have to think about things like volunteer work and such aside from all the other things. How are you not exhausted by 7pm???

 

[Songbird76]

I'm sure some of it is living in what's considered major metro areas. I know Kendall didn't get info from every school at hers, and it wasn't nearly as many as the one at my school, but she saw some decent schools, but she still came home talking about 20+ schools from all over. Still, her focus is law, so I want to make sure she looks to some place with a decent Poli-Sci/Pre Law undergrad program. Texas reminds me a lot of what we saw in Florida. There are a number of kids who graduate HS that go on to complete degree programs at 4 year colleges and universities...but many of them wind up going to smaller state schools rather than the big names. We saw some of this in NJ too, but a lot more going to big schools or well known schools. Still, even some of the smartest kids burn out. Our Valedictorian went to Princeton and I'd heard she had to take a leave after first semester because she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She was a sweet girl, but wasn't allowed an ounce of freedom and everything she did had to keep her on point with her parent's academic goals. On the flip side, our Salutatorian went to Yale, had a booming social life in high school and rolled with the punches of an Ivy League education.

Wow! A class of 32! My husband always mocks me for having a class of 300...since his was like 1,500 or more. Some of the graduating classes are so large here that high school graduation has to be held in one of the pro sports stadiums. As for the grades...so many thoughts on that...none of them good. That sounds so horribly rigged. It's pretty disgusting when you think about it. You work so hard against a system that's fixed to work against you. Not right.

Well, that's kind of a problem with a small town. Everyone knows everyone, gossip abounds, and there are a lot of personal vendettas. Our school principal was not well-liked, but he had a LOT of issues with my family. When I was in 6th grade, they started a mentoring program with high school students. They paired a high school student with an underprivileged elementary student to do "fun" activities together. A big brother big sister program, and I was "chosen" to be one of the underprivileged kids. Yes, we were poor and my parents were divorced, and in a bigger place where there was some anonymity, a mentor probably would have been great. But I knew the mentors, and they were not nice to me, so I didn't want to be stuck in an environment where they could bully me more easily. I refused to do the program. The counselor and principal were not happy about it. For some reason, they were trying really hard to pigeon-hole us in the role of troubled children, but my brother and I both got good grades, we went to church, we were involved in activities, and had good reputations. They didn't like that we wouldn't let them use us to show how effective their programs were at rehabilitating troubled kids....they wanted us to be poster children who they could point to and say "See how successful she is because of our program" or "Look how well he's doing because we gave him this opportunity!" We didn't play along, and it made them look bad, because the best students wanted nothing to do with these programs. When my brother graduated, he was #2 in his class, but they had a class of really really bright kids and there were several who had really high GPAs and test scores. The principal wanted to honor them all by making everyone with a certain GPA a co-salutatorian. My mom fought it because they had never done that before and she felt it was unfair to my brother who had worked really hard for the honor of salutatorian...to then have to share it with everyone else, even though their grades weren't as good kind of minimized his achievement. So they didn't do that. I THINK that's why they worked so hard to keep me from getting the Salutatorian honor...it was spite. And the real kicker was that the valedictorian and salutitorian agreed that they felt I had earned the honor, so they went to the principal to ask if I could be co-salutatorian together with the other guy, and while the principal had been pushing for it the year before, suddenly he was completely against that and refused to let them share the title with me. So they both mentioned me in their speeches instead, which I thought was actually really classy of them...they certainly didn't have to.

There were other incidents....the counselor threatened to break my brother's nose once and tried to pass it off as a joke. And by the time I was a senior, he had a foster child staying with him who was also a senior, and she was....not as competitive on paper when it came to scholarships. She had come to our town when she was a sophomore, pregnant, and living with a family just out of town who had several foster children. She had a tendency to lie to get attention, and she wasn't well-liked, but I befriended her. I felt bad for her, figuring she must be scared....new town, pregnant, everyone judging her...it couldn't have been easy. She was going to have twins, but they were born too early and neither survived, according to her...I think it's probably possible that she was forced to give them up and just told everyone they died for the attention. I don't really know, but in any case, it was a very tough thing she went through. She started joining all the same activities I was in, but she wasn't good at them. She was super with things like knitting, sewing, cooking, but she just wasn't a good speaker, couldn't act, couldn't carry a tune in a basket...so she consistently came in last at every speech tournament while I was bringing home trophies, she tried out for the lead in the school musical, but couldn't sing, so she got a non-singing role and was angry that I got the lead. We both did a speech contest with American Legion....she only did it because I was doing it. There were only 4 of us who competed, and there was an 8 minute prepared speech and a 3 minute impromptu about an amendment to the Constitution. She bragged to me that she hadn't prepared her speech at all, she was going to prove that she was the better speaker once and for all by going in and winging it for 8 minutes and still beating me....then when I won, she stormed out and refused to shake even the judges' hands. Long story short, the Counselor, being her foster father, didn't like me getting all these awards while she didn't. So he badmouthed me to scholarship committees, told them they weren't ALLOWED to give me scholarships, gave me the wrong dates so I would miss submission deadlines (his secretary kept me informed on the actual dates). He tried to make everyone turn the applications in to him so that HE could give them to the proper organizations, but I turned mine in myself to the address listed on the forms. He got mad and his secretary overheard him telling Walmart that I hadn't gone through his "special screening process", so they weren't allowed to give me their scholarship. The D.A.R.E officer told me he was told he wasn't allowed to give me their scholarship because I had enough scholarships....they gave it to me anyway. And of course, he and the principal tried to rig the rankings so I would miss out on the tuition and fees scholarship from UW, but that backfired. They just really hated my brother and I, and tried to sabbotage us in any way they could. The counselor died a few years after I graduated, and the principal got a new job the year after I graduated. Our district had wanted to get rid of him for ages, but he was tenured. When a school in South Dakota called for a reference, they lied through their teeth about how great he was, just so they would hire him and they'd be rid of him. We heard South Dakota was really disappointed with him and didn't understand why he had gotten such a glowing recommendation. I can only imagine what he did to turn them off of him so quickly after they hired him!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

This is what I'm talking about with the lantern flies. Putting in a spoiler because they are super gross. This ride is the worst, but they're dead everywhere.

Spoiler

 

[Songbird76]

I went out for a walk finally on Saturday. I had a whole list of things I needed, so I decided to combine it with a walk. I was just shy of 10,000 steps when I got to the last stop, so I called my husband to come pick me up because my body was telling me I needed to rest. My knee was hurting, my hip felt really stiff, my back pack was killing my shoulders, and I still needed to get to the grocery store and cook dinner, so I knew I'd get the 10,000 steps that day.
My left heel has been really painful after walking. I'm fine for the most part while I'm walking, but once I sit, it's excruciating when I get back up and takes several minutes before I can put weight on it. I'll also get shooting pains in it while I'm sitting, like it will suddenly cramp up like a charlie horse, but in my heel.
We're super busy at work because of Glamour Weekend last weekend. We have 300 employees, but for some reason we can't seem to get more than 10-15 people to work on a Friday evening, so we get really behind on the weekend. We are 400 postal carts behind on returns, but we can't do them because the people we have we need to be walking orders. They even added the last 2 Sundays as workdays, and we get paid time and a half on Sundays, but we were still short yesterday. I was by myself at a whole island (4 zones) for most of the shift. So I walked orders the whole time, got 17,000 steps in, then I still needed to go to the grocery store when we got home. I told hubby we were ordering in because I wasn't cooking. Last week was the same deal, but he didn't get groceries or anything while I was at work, so we had to just wing it, eating leftovers and filling in with snacks. He rarely cooks an actual meal, especially on the weekends. So this week, I said we're ordering in! But I still had a couple of things I had to get at the store, and I had told him I needed to go to the store after work. We get back to our town and he drives right past the turn off to the grocery store. I reminded him and he was surprised....he says "I figured you'd just walk when we got back home." Um, A. the weather is crappy...it's been raining buckets on and off. B. I've been walking all afternoon and I'm exhausted. C. we go right past the grocery store! It's like....50 feet out of our way. You really want me to walk several blocks in the rain after I've been working while you played on the computer so you don't have to go 50 feet out of your way? Not gonna happen. What was he thinking?? I just said "I've been on my feet all day and my feet hurt...I'd like to save myself a few steps if you don't mind." He turned around without complaining, but I don't know why he assumed I was going to walk. Anyway, I certainly got my steps in on the weekend!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Still dealing with the ankle sprain.

I walked around Hershey yesterday again. I didn't need the brace on the left one at all and it didn't hurt at all after a day of walking. Huzzah!

My right one is a different story. After a day of walking, I came home and found it was swollen and bruised again. I'm debating if I need to go to the podiatrist to get the cortisone shot in it.

My gym membership restarts on the 15th, so I can start going to the pool there in an effort to get my ankle back in shape.

I might try to use the weights this week on the floor just to work on my arms. I don't want to risk hurting myself but this is driving me nuts.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Good morning. I haven't been in a workout mood of late. I haven't been in a healthy eating mood either. I spent hours in the yard yesterday putting up our Halloween display, but that's the first real activity I've had since Thursday. This weekend did not go as planned and Monday is just a continuation of the awfulness.

Sam had softball on Saturday. I'll spare you the full story, but she broke her thumb. We thought it might just be dislocated, since it was just sort of hanging there like it was out of the joint. Unfortunately, the bone was completely broken, just above the joint, and all the way through. That's why it was hanging like that. I drove to the hospital and David took her in to the ER. I forgot about Covid protocols (only one parent/guardian allowed in), so after I parked the car, I was turned away at the door. They had a hand specialist evaluate her and they didn't see the need for emergency surgery, but it's sounding like it's still going to require surgical attention. I have to take her in for more Xrays first thing tomorrow morning, and then a follow up evaluation with the doctor. I am going to ask if there's any way to properly fix this without surgery, but she's currently scheduled for surgery tomorrow afternoon. I guess they need to get to it before the bones really begin to fuse.

Just after we got off the phone with the doctor, I joined an impromptu meeting at work...still feeling very overwhelmed by all of this, just to find out that a long-time work friend died from Covid this morning. I didn't get to see her as often after I assumed a new role in 2014, but she was a really nice lady. She leaves behind a husband, a 6th grade son, and an 11th grade son. It's my understanding that she was not vaccinated.

I'll let everyone know how tomorrow goes. Right now I'm in need of all kinds of ways to vent.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Good morning. I haven't been in a workout mood of late. I haven't been in a healthy eating mood either. I spent hours in the yard yesterday putting up our Halloween display, but that's the first real activity I've had since Thursday. This weekend did not go as planned and Monday is just a continuation of the awfulness.

Sam had softball on Saturday. I'll spare you the full story, but she broke her thumb. We thought it might just be dislocated, since it was just sort of hanging there like it was out of the joint. Unfortunately, the bone was completely broken, just above the joint, and all the way through. That's why it was hanging like that. I drove to the hospital and David took her in to the ER. I forgot about Covid protocols (only one parent/guardian allowed in), so after I parked the car, I was turned away at the door. They had a hand specialist evaluate her and they didn't see the need for emergency surgery, but it's sounding like it's still going to require surgical attention. I have to take her in for more Xrays first thing tomorrow morning, and then a follow up evaluation with the doctor. I am going to ask if there's any way to properly fix this without surgery, but she's currently scheduled for surgery tomorrow afternoon. I guess they need to get to it before the bones really begin to fuse.

Just after we got off the phone with the doctor, I joined an impromptu meeting at work...still feeling very overwhelmed by all of this, just to find out that a long-time work friend died from Covid this morning. I didn't get to see her as often after I assumed a new role in 2014, but she was a really nice lady. She leaves behind a husband, a 6th grade son, and an 11th grade son. It's my understanding that she was not vaccinated.

I'll let everyone know how tomorrow goes. Right now I'm in need of all kinds of ways to vent.

Um, ouch! That sucks for Sam. I tore a ligament in my thumb in college. It hurt horribly, and you don't realize how much you need your thumb until you no longer have use of it.

As for your coworker, that also sucks. So sorry to hear that.

 

[MinnieM123]

Um, ouch! That sucks for Sam. I tore a ligament in my thumb in college. It hurt horribly, and you don't realize how much you need your thumb until you no longer have use of it.

As for your coworker, that also sucks. So sorry to hear that.

@HouCuseChickie , I second what StarWarsGirl shared above. Sending healing thoughts to Sam. And, so sorry to learn that you lost a work friend to Covid.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Um, ouch! That sucks for Sam. I tore a ligament in my thumb in college. It hurt horribly, and you don't realize how much you need your thumb until you no longer have use of it.

As for your coworker, that also sucks. So sorry to hear that.

Funny you mention that...her injury prompted a long discussion about the benefits of opposable thumbs. I'm really dreading this for her, but better that she gets what she needs to heal correctly.

Yeah...that just added to my shock this morning. I also found out before I was technically supposed to, so that's adding an awkwardness to it. I'm curious to see how the company responds when this is shared with everyone.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

@HouCuseChickie , I second what StarWarsGirl shared above. Sending healing thoughts to Sam. And, so sorry to learn that you lost a work friend to Covid.

Thank you! Definitely not the way to start our week.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Funny you mention that...her injury prompted a long discussion about the benefits of opposable thumbs. I'm really dreading this for her, but better that she gets what she needs to heal correctly.

Yeah...that just added to my shock this morning. I also found out before I was technically supposed to, so that's adding an awkwardness to it. I'm curious to see how the company responds when this is shared with everyone.

I remember stuff like doing my hair and typing on my phone suddenly becoming impossible. Hopefully she'll heal quickly. I had surgery for it too and it wasn't too bad.

I can imagine that's an awkward situation. Covid's taken way too many lives.

 

[Songbird76]

Good morning. I haven't been in a workout mood of late. I haven't been in a healthy eating mood either. I spent hours in the yard yesterday putting up our Halloween display, but that's the first real activity I've had since Thursday. This weekend did not go as planned and Monday is just a continuation of the awfulness.

Sam had softball on Saturday. I'll spare you the full story, but she broke her thumb. We thought it might just be dislocated, since it was just sort of hanging there like it was out of the joint. Unfortunately, the bone was completely broken, just above the joint, and all the way through. That's why it was hanging like that. I drove to the hospital and David took her in to the ER. I forgot about Covid protocols (only one parent/guardian allowed in), so after I parked the car, I was turned away at the door. They had a hand specialist evaluate her and they didn't see the need for emergency surgery, but it's sounding like it's still going to require surgical attention. I have to take her in for more Xrays first thing tomorrow morning, and then a follow up evaluation with the doctor. I am going to ask if there's any way to properly fix this without surgery, but she's currently scheduled for surgery tomorrow afternoon. I guess they need to get to it before the bones really begin to fuse.

Just after we got off the phone with the doctor, I joined an impromptu meeting at work...still feeling very overwhelmed by all of this, just to find out that a long-time work friend died from Covid this morning. I didn't get to see her as often after I assumed a new role in 2014, but she was a really nice lady. She leaves behind a husband, a 6th grade son, and an 11th grade son. It's my understanding that she was not vaccinated.

I'll let everyone know how tomorrow goes. Right now I'm in need of all kinds of ways to vent.

Yikes....sounds like a rough weekend. I'm so sorry about your work friend. It's so devastating how many families are being destroyed by Covid...people leaving behind young children, partners, not to mention the controversy about vaccination, masks, and other protocols. Was anyone else at work infected?

How is Sam feeling? Is she in a lot of pain? Did they give her any kind of painkillers? When A broke his wrist, and when he broke his toe, they only gave us some paracetemol or ibuprofen...I don't remember which, but they didn't do a whole lot for the pain aspect. And you can't really do a whole lot for a thumb....I'm assuming they can't cast it....did they just tape it up? That's what they did with A's toe. How long will she be out of sports? I'm betting she can't play volleyball either, with a broken thumb, much less hold a bat for softball. Is it her dominant hand or will she be able to write?

Vent away...I'm sure you need to get it out and that's what we're here for!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yikes....sounds like a rough weekend. I'm so sorry about your work friend. It's so devastating how many families are being destroyed by Covid...people leaving behind young children, partners, not to mention the controversy about vaccination, masks, and other protocols. Was anyone else at work infected?

How is Sam feeling? Is she in a lot of pain? Did they give her any kind of painkillers? When A broke his wrist, and when he broke his toe, they only gave us some paracetemol or ibuprofen...I don't remember which, but they didn't do a whole lot for the pain aspect. And you can't really do a whole lot for a thumb....I'm assuming they can't cast it....did they just tape it up? That's what they did with A's toe. How long will she be out of sports? I'm betting she can't play volleyball either, with a broken thumb, much less hold a bat for softball. Is it her dominant hand or will she be able to write?

Vent away...I'm sure you need to get it out and that's what we're here for!!

We haven't been able to set foot in our offices since March 16th, 2020 (minus a few select people), so nobody from work has seen her or was exposed to her. Our employer instituted a vaccine mandate for all in-office employees before the government started pushing similar measures.

Sam is feeling better. I'll post more on it below, but you'd be surprised how much they can do for a thumb. Thankfully, it is not her dominant hand. We went through that when she broke her wrist. Her penmanship isn't the best, but 2.5 months of writing with her left hand was like trying to read a toddler's scribble scrabble!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Just wanted to update you guys on Sam. It was a long day, but the doctor said surgery went exactly as planned. In case you care to hear about all of the fun...

- We got there around 7:50am...wound up in the wrong radiology area...the girl who checked us in didn't actually check us in. After sitting there for close to 40 minutes, I called and had to be redirected. Thankfully, the correct radiology area...which really wasn't needed...since she didn't have to get a full cast cut off (she was in a splint)...was pretty quick.
- We then went upstairs (to the right area) and met with the surgeon. Really nice guy. The new X-Rays actually looked worse than the originals from Saturday. The spiral and jagged nature of the fracture as well as the extreme distance of the separation were now fully visible. I still asked if there was any way for this to heal without surgery, but he was very good about explaining why that wasn't an option. Much of it was already visible.
- They forgot to covid test us, so we had to go back outside and go through the hospital's drive through testing set up at the bottom of the parking garage. Afterwards, we had to sit in the car for an hour and wait for the all clear. Fun.
- Her surgery was moved up from 3pm to noon, so David's plan to get there by 2pm was out the window and he wouldn't be able to make it until the tail end of everything pre-op. After getting lost in the hospital, we found the correct surgery area (there are several). I also got to pay for my first installment in all of this. Not the ER part that's sure to come, but just the surgery. I swear...I hate US healthcare. My insurance, like so many I know, is awful. So, I'm bracing for the additional bills that are sure to come. I hate talking about that kind of stuff, but it's part of why I cringe anytime anyone needs something big done.
- Pre Op was interesting...Sam didn't know what to make of the hospital outfit and socks she got, the cup for the urine test confused the heck out of her (first time), she got to pick her post-op beverage (white cherry icee), and the anesthesia nurses discussed her fears. They were going to give her some meds to take off the edge a bit, but things were moving forward so quickly that it would have delayed surgery. This all came up right when David arrived. She was still in good spirits, but she had become sort of jittery...teeth chattering, etc. We got her some blankets to keep her warm and tried to work through the fears...and not long after that, she was wheeled into surgery. I was happy David at least got to meet the dr beforehand.
- We were then out in the waiting room. Thankfully, they have screens with all kinds of status info. It had color coding to show what room she was in (lobby, pre op, OR, recovery) as well as status codes for each one. So, we knew once the procedure was done. The dr came by right after, said it all went perfectly and we discussed upcoming plans...which is good because our follow up was too soon. I was able to reschedule before going back into recovery.
- A nurse called us and another woman back into recovery. I really felt for her...she was crying most of the time. Little girl has been fighting something viral (unknown at moment) and they were doing something with her lymph nodes. She seemed to find some happiness in talking to us for a bit about her son and things with Sam. We wished her the best and I waved to her on the way out.
- When we got to Sam, she was still out, but the nurse told us she had started to open her eyes just before we came back. She had so many questions and concerns about anesthesia before the procedure, so coming out of it was all kind of a shock to her. She remembered certain things David swore she wouldn't, but there were other things she didn't remember at all. I think she picked her cast color while under the laughing gas, prior to getting the real meds. She's shocked that she picked purple. She said she would have wanted black, red or blue...and I know they have a wide array of colors. So, now we know she secretly likes purple. LOL She was a bit shaky and it took a little while for her legs and feet to wake up...which kind of freaked her out. The bulk of the discomfort she felt was her tongue (they had something in her mouth to keep it secure) and the area with her IV (apparently, the vein blew on the first try...I often have the same).
- After that, they wheeled her out to the car and we were on our way home. She hadn't eaten all day, so she had macaroni and mashed potatoes once home...and then went to bed. Thankfully, she didn't have any of the nausea issues some kids have. I got some fancy barf bags just in case. She'll also be on antibiotics for the next 10 days.

I know @Songbird76 had mentioned what they might be able to do for a thumb. On Saturday, the ER gave her a thumb splint. It looked a lot like the velcro one she had for her broken wrist a few years ago, except that it had a special area for her thumb. It had velcro to help secure and tighten it and went almost all the way to the tip. Today, they surgically added pins to her thumb to bring the bones pieces back together and then put her in a full cast up towards her elbow...similar to the first one she had for her broken wrist, except it's longer and it goes all the way to the tip of the thumb, is fully filled in between the thumb and the index finger, and the rest of the fingers are covered more, to restrict them from impacting the thumb's healing.

What's really wild to me is her recovery time. The surgeon says about 3 weeks! Our experience with kid breaks have all involved major joints, so this came as a shock. When Sam broke her wrist, it was close to 2.5 months to heal. When Kendall broke her ankle, it was over 3 months! Needless to say, we still have to wait and see, but I was anticipating her being out of commission until some time in December. Ultimately, while this isn't finished, Sam came away from today feeling really positive. The doctor and all of the nurses had some kind of sports background and could really relate to her. She was already interested in a career pertaining to sports medicine (the physical therapy side), and I think this just reinforced all of that for her. Now just praying we don't have any issues going forward. Whew!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Just wanted to update you guys on Sam. It was a long day, but the doctor said surgery went exactly as planned. In case you care to hear about all of the fun...

- We got there around 7:50am...wound up in the wrong radiology area...the girl who checked us in didn't actually check us in. After sitting there for close to 40 minutes, I called and had to be redirected. Thankfully, the correct radiology area...which really wasn't needed...since she didn't have to get a full cast cut off (she was in a splint)...was pretty quick.
- We then went upstairs (to the right area) and met with the surgeon. Really nice guy. The new X-Rays actually looked worse than the originals from Saturday. The spiral and jagged nature of the fracture as well as the extreme distance of the separation were now fully visible. I still asked if there was any way for this to heal without surgery, but he was very good about explaining why that wasn't an option. Much of it was already visible.
- They forgot to covid test us, so we had to go back outside and go through the hospital's drive through testing set up at the bottom of the parking garage. Afterwards, we had to sit in the car for an hour and wait for the all clear. Fun.
- Her surgery was moved up from 3pm to noon, so David's plan to get there by 2pm was out the window and he wouldn't be able to make it until the tail end of everything pre-op. After getting lost in the hospital, we found the correct surgery area (there are several). I also got to pay for my first installment in all of this. Not the ER part that's sure to come, but just the surgery. I swear...I hate US healthcare. My insurance, like so many I know, is awful. So, I'm bracing for the additional bills that are sure to come. I hate talking about that kind of stuff, but it's part of why I cringe anytime anyone needs something big done.
- Pre Op was interesting...Sam didn't know what to make of the hospital outfit and socks she got, the cup for the urine test confused the heck out of her (first time), she got to pick her post-op beverage (white cherry icee), and the anesthesia nurses discussed her fears. They were going to give her some meds to take off the edge a bit, but things were moving forward so quickly that it would have delayed surgery. This all came up right when David arrived. She was still in good spirits, but she had become sort of jittery...teeth chattering, etc. We got her some blankets to keep her warm and tried to work through the fears...and not long after that, she was wheeled into surgery. I was happy David at least got to meet the dr beforehand.
- We were then out in the waiting room. Thankfully, they have screens with all kinds of status info. It had color coding to show what room she was in (lobby, pre op, OR, recovery) as well as status codes for each one. So, we knew once the procedure was done. The dr came by right after, said it all went perfectly and we discussed upcoming plans...which is good because our follow up was too soon. I was able to reschedule before going back into recovery.
- A nurse called us and another woman back into recovery. I really felt for her...she was crying most of the time. Little girl has been fighting something viral (unknown at moment) and they were doing something with her lymph nodes. She seemed to find some happiness in talking to us for a bit about her son and things with Sam. We wished her the best and I waved to her on the way out.
- When we got to Sam, she was still out, but the nurse told us she had started to open her eyes just before we came back. She had so many questions and concerns about anesthesia before the procedure, so coming out of it was all kind of a shock to her. She remembered certain things David swore she wouldn't, but there were other things she didn't remember at all. I think she picked her cast color while under the laughing gas, prior to getting the real meds. She's shocked that she picked purple. She said she would have wanted black, red or blue...and I know they have a wide array of colors. So, now we know she secretly likes purple. LOL She was a bit shaky and it took a little while for her legs and feet to wake up...which kind of freaked her out. The bulk of the discomfort she felt was her tongue (they had something in her mouth to keep it secure) and the area with her IV (apparently, the vein blew on the first try...I often have the same).
- After that, they wheeled her out to the car and we were on our way home. She hadn't eaten all day, so she had macaroni and mashed potatoes once home...and then went to bed. Thankfully, she didn't have any of the nausea issues some kids have. I got some fancy barf bags just in case. She'll also be on antibiotics for the next 10 days.

I know @Songbird76 had mentioned what they might be able to do for a thumb. On Saturday, the ER gave her a thumb splint. It looked a lot like the velcro one she had for her broken wrist a few years ago, except that it had a special area for her thumb. It had velcro to help secure and tighten it and went almost all the way to the tip. Today, they surgically added pins to her thumb to bring the bones pieces back together and then put her in a full cast up towards her elbow...similar to the first one she had for her broken wrist, except it's longer and it goes all the way to the tip of the thumb, is fully filled in between the thumb and the index finger, and the rest of the fingers are covered more, to restrict them from impacting the thumb's healing.

What's really wild to me is her recovery time. The surgeon says about 3 weeks! Our experience with kid breaks have all involved major joints, so this came as a shock. When Sam broke her wrist, it was close to 2.5 months to heal. When Kendall broke her ankle, it was over 3 months! Needless to say, we still have to wait and see, but I was anticipating her being out of commission until some time in December. Ultimately, while this isn't finished, Sam came away from today feeling really positive. The doctor and all of the nurses had some kind of sports background and could really relate to her. She was already interested in a career pertaining to sports medicine (the physical therapy side), and I think this just reinforced all of that for her. Now just praying we don't have any issues going forward. Whew!

I'm glad her surgery went well. I hope things continue to heal correctly now. Going in and out of anesthesia is an odd sensation. The first time for me was with my wisdom teeth, I remember feeling very rested afterwards. Actually, the other few times I've had it I always felt well rested.

 

[Songbird76]

Just wanted to update you guys on Sam. It was a long day, but the doctor said surgery went exactly as planned. In case you care to hear about all of the fun...

- We got there around 7:50am...wound up in the wrong radiology area...the girl who checked us in didn't actually check us in. After sitting there for close to 40 minutes, I called and had to be redirected. Thankfully, the correct radiology area...which really wasn't needed...since she didn't have to get a full cast cut off (she was in a splint)...was pretty quick.
- We then went upstairs (to the right area) and met with the surgeon. Really nice guy. The new X-Rays actually looked worse than the originals from Saturday. The spiral and jagged nature of the fracture as well as the extreme distance of the separation were now fully visible. I still asked if there was any way for this to heal without surgery, but he was very good about explaining why that wasn't an option. Much of it was already visible.
- They forgot to covid test us, so we had to go back outside and go through the hospital's drive through testing set up at the bottom of the parking garage. Afterwards, we had to sit in the car for an hour and wait for the all clear. Fun.
- Her surgery was moved up from 3pm to noon, so David's plan to get there by 2pm was out the window and he wouldn't be able to make it until the tail end of everything pre-op. After getting lost in the hospital, we found the correct surgery area (there are several). I also got to pay for my first installment in all of this. Not the ER part that's sure to come, but just the surgery. I swear...I hate US healthcare. My insurance, like so many I know, is awful. So, I'm bracing for the additional bills that are sure to come. I hate talking about that kind of stuff, but it's part of why I cringe anytime anyone needs something big done.
- Pre Op was interesting...Sam didn't know what to make of the hospital outfit and socks she got, the cup for the urine test confused the heck out of her (first time), she got to pick her post-op beverage (white cherry icee), and the anesthesia nurses discussed her fears. They were going to give her some meds to take off the edge a bit, but things were moving forward so quickly that it would have delayed surgery. This all came up right when David arrived. She was still in good spirits, but she had become sort of jittery...teeth chattering, etc. We got her some blankets to keep her warm and tried to work through the fears...and not long after that, she was wheeled into surgery. I was happy David at least got to meet the dr beforehand.
- We were then out in the waiting room. Thankfully, they have screens with all kinds of status info. It had color coding to show what room she was in (lobby, pre op, OR, recovery) as well as status codes for each one. So, we knew once the procedure was done. The dr came by right after, said it all went perfectly and we discussed upcoming plans...which is good because our follow up was too soon. I was able to reschedule before going back into recovery.
- A nurse called us and another woman back into recovery. I really felt for her...she was crying most of the time. Little girl has been fighting something viral (unknown at moment) and they were doing something with her lymph nodes. She seemed to find some happiness in talking to us for a bit about her son and things with Sam. We wished her the best and I waved to her on the way out.
- When we got to Sam, she was still out, but the nurse told us she had started to open her eyes just before we came back. She had so many questions and concerns about anesthesia before the procedure, so coming out of it was all kind of a shock to her. She remembered certain things David swore she wouldn't, but there were other things she didn't remember at all. I think she picked her cast color while under the laughing gas, prior to getting the real meds. She's shocked that she picked purple. She said she would have wanted black, red or blue...and I know they have a wide array of colors. So, now we know she secretly likes purple. LOL She was a bit shaky and it took a little while for her legs and feet to wake up...which kind of freaked her out. The bulk of the discomfort she felt was her tongue (they had something in her mouth to keep it secure) and the area with her IV (apparently, the vein blew on the first try...I often have the same).
- After that, they wheeled her out to the car and we were on our way home. She hadn't eaten all day, so she had macaroni and mashed potatoes once home...and then went to bed. Thankfully, she didn't have any of the nausea issues some kids have. I got some fancy barf bags just in case. She'll also be on antibiotics for the next 10 days.

I know @Songbird76 had mentioned what they might be able to do for a thumb. On Saturday, the ER gave her a thumb splint. It looked a lot like the velcro one she had for her broken wrist a few years ago, except that it had a special area for her thumb. It had velcro to help secure and tighten it and went almost all the way to the tip. Today, they surgically added pins to her thumb to bring the bones pieces back together and then put her in a full cast up towards her elbow...similar to the first one she had for her broken wrist, except it's longer and it goes all the way to the tip of the thumb, is fully filled in between the thumb and the index finger, and the rest of the fingers are covered more, to restrict them from impacting the thumb's healing.

What's really wild to me is her recovery time. The surgeon says about 3 weeks! Our experience with kid breaks have all involved major joints, so this came as a shock. When Sam broke her wrist, it was close to 2.5 months to heal. When Kendall broke her ankle, it was over 3 months! Needless to say, we still have to wait and see, but I was anticipating her being out of commission until some time in December. Ultimately, while this isn't finished, Sam came away from today feeling really positive. The doctor and all of the nurses had some kind of sports background and could really relate to her. She was already interested in a career pertaining to sports medicine (the physical therapy side), and I think this just reinforced all of that for her. Now just praying we don't have any issues going forward. Whew!

Wow....3 weeks seems so fast! Did she have to have surgery when she broke her wrist? A didn't....they debated about it, but ultimately decided they thought they could give it a stiff nudge when they placed the cast to get it back in alignment. I almost passed out and had to be taken out of the room...I was so nervous for him. I just can't stand my kids being in pain. But he handled it really well and he was fine afterwards. But I think he only had to have his cast for eithre 4 or 6 weeks and then another couple of weeks of a brace. For his toe, they couldn't do anything but tape it. He was only 4 when that happened, and he couldn't walk, so I had to put him on my bike and wheel him to school for several days...that was less than ideal. Good thing his school was only a couple of blocks from our house then.

So will she be able to go back to sports at the end of the 3 weeks? Will she need physical therapy? I'm glad the surgery went well. I don't remember any weird effects from anesthesia when I had my adenoids removed, but I was EXHAUSTED for a few days and would get tired and dizzy just walking to the bathroom. Has she had any problems with that? How long did the surgery take?